ABINGDON, Va. – Johnston Memorial Hospital has been serving the community for more than a century, and July 16 marked a special day in the hospital’s history. Ten years ago, the hospital opened the doors of a new, 350,000-square-foot facility off Lee Highway, next to I-81. Every feature of the campus was designed to impact patient care positively, and it looks as beautiful and modern today as the day it opened.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary, hospital leaders delivered celebratory cookies to all of the departments as they joined their team members to share stories reminiscing about the move to the new campus.
Here are some stories from Johnston Memorial team members who were part of the opening as they reflect on the facility and its decade of serving the community:
Kathy Tucker, RN
Family Birth Center Pre-admissions and Diaper Program Coordinator
Remembering 10 years ago: “On the actual day of the move, I was the nurse assigned to the laboring mother at the old Johnston Memorial Hospital. I realized that if we were going to get her moved before the birth, we would need to leave for the new hospital earlier than scheduled. The patient and I were transported by ambulance and were two of the first to enter the new facility.”
Ten years later: “We enjoy the many technological advances we gained with the move. Our big step forward at the Family Birth Center was new fetal monitors that allowed us to chart electronically instead of with pen and paper. I remember being sad to leave the old hospital behind on that day, but we now have a beautiful workplace.”
Sarah Webb, RN
Team Member Health
Remembering 10 years ago: “The weeks leading up to the move were some of the hardest of my career. We had to keep the obstetrics floor open at the old hospital that last night and be ready to roll at the new one. I remember how busy the Family Birth Center was from the first moment the doors opened. The first patient admitted to the new Johnston Memorial Hospital was a laboring mother. Within a few hours, we had a baby with several more arriving that day. By the grace of God, it was a smooth transition.”
Ten years later: “I remember what a tremendous time it was that we lived through. I kept thinking that the design and flow would be our legacy, and it is. It was so important that we got it right. Look what we have to show for it now!”
Kelly Lane
Director of Operational Excellence
Remembering 10 years ago: “I was working with other Johnston Memorial Hospital leaders as we mapped out the flow of the hospital, communication and handoff as the hospital was under construction. I was a new leader and had no idea what the outcome would be but trusted the people that were alongside us to guide the way. We leaned on one another to figure things out, do what was best for our patients. We all worked long hours to ensure everything was planned, accounted for and ready to go for our patients. We became more like family during the relocation process, relying on each other for support, guidance and understanding as we all embarked on our new journey at 16000 Johnston Memorial Drive.”
Ten years later: “The people are the best and the real reason I’ve enjoyed working at the new location over the past decade, but the surroundings complement a feeling of family. It is as if we get to work in a fancy hotel with open space and private rooms, but there is also the sense of home with our great big family. We experience the highs and lows together as one family, praying, celebrating, comforting and, most importantly, doing what is best for the patients and their family during their visit to our home.”
Janie McGlocklin, RN
Surgery Specialty Service Coordinator
Remembering 10 years ago: “We were trying to figure what equipment we could send on to the new hospital and what we needed to keep at the old one in case we had an emergency come into the old hospital at the last minute before the move. We needed to be prepared at both facilities before we completed the transition. It was an exciting and interesting transition, but it went very smoothly.”
Ten years later: “I like that the operating rooms at the new hospital are bigger; the rooms were very small at the old facility. Now we can actually get all the needed equipment in the rooms and still have space to move around. I also love the new location because I can be at work in five minutes.”
Robin Wilson, RT
Director of Respiratory, Neurology & Sleep
Remembering 10 years ago: “When my department and I were challenged to move our sickest patients to the new hospital from the old one, all went as planned, and we were excited to move to our new home. Still, many of our team members had worked at the old Johnston Memorial Hospital for years and requested to hang back to ensure they were the last to leave. We walked the halls where we all grew up and grew as a team while memories flooded our thoughts. It was a special and exciting time but a bit bittersweet as we closed the chapter on our life there.”
Ten years later: “The new hospital opened more than a new chapter for our team. The last 10 years could fill a whole series of new books! The new Johnston Memorial Hospital has given us more space, larger patient rooms (all private), and the ability to do STEMI and expand our surgeries. It was the first ‘green’ hospital in Virginia, and the location provides a beautiful view that is very calming.”
Nathan Osborne
Director of Facilities Engineering and Safety Officer
Remembering 10 years ago: “I oversaw the tail-end of the new building construction. I have so many memories of move day and the weeks prior to it. Only a week before the scheduled move-in date, I was cutting up concrete in the Emergency Department and found wooden two-by-fours in the drain line. We had countless water leaks when we opened valves for the first time. I can remember transporting equipment – the MRI machine, two steam boilers and chillers – through the town of Abingdon on tractor trailers with police escort from the old hospital to the new one. I remember testing the smoke evaluation system one night. We filled the entire atrium with smoke just to see how fast the system could remove it once the fire alarm was activated – less than 10 seconds, by the way! Most of all, I remember ambulances transporting the 37 patients from the old 91-year-old hospital and how amazed they were when they arrived at the new building.”
Ten years later: “I enjoy what the new facility has given this community. I continue to get compliments from patients and visitors about how nice the new facility is and how it still looks brand new. As for my role here, being able to care for the building that gives others the ability to care for our patients… that’s the enjoyment I get from working at Johnston Memorial Hospital.”
Sean McMurray
Senior VP, Market Operations and Service Line Integration and Development for Ballad Health, and former Johnston Memorial Hospital CEO
Remembering 10 years ago: “I broke my leg a week before the move to the new hospital. I ended up wearing a leg brace during the pre-opening festivities. As the hospital CEO at the time, I led many hospital tours for community members over the several days before our grand opening, all with a broken leg! I will never forget the ambulance ‘parade’ when we moved patients from the old Johnston Memorial Hospital to the new hospital, one patient at a time. Numerous EMS agencies from throughout Southwest Virginia were represented that day, and the arrival of each patient and ambulance at the new hospital was quite a spectacle.”
Ten years later: “The facility still looks beautiful, a tribute to all those who work there and care for it, especially our team members in plant operations and environmental services. Though I now work at the corporate office in Johnson City, I do get to visit from time to time and love seeing the team members. It was such an honor to work at such a lovely and functional hospital facility.”
Johnston Memorial Hospital 10-year anniversary celebration photo gallery
(Click on individual photos to see the picture in full frame):
